Mo' notes...

12:02 PT: The Charlotte Observer reports Carolina Panthers rookie DB Dante Wesley stepped up during Thursday's minicamp intercepting the ball twice, on consecutive plays. The team has a need for another starting defensive back. Head coach John Fox said, "I think he'll be in the mix."

11:59 PT: The Charlotte Observer reports Carolina Panthers rookie RB Deshaun Foster will finish his semester at UCLA on Friday and is expected to join the team on Monday.

11:57 PT: The Charlotte Observer reports Carolina Panthers rookie LB Will Witherspoon may have a contract worked out as soon as next week.

 

Good to see that WW will be in soon. That's a big start, most 3rd rounders aren't signed. Still, that does kinda put a big stress on Foster and Peppers' deals. I hope we don't run into another escalating clause, incentive laden deal with Foster because, like Weinke, he feels he should have been picked higher. Or something.

 

This is a stressful time for those of us who worry about team chemistry, and the lack thereof. New coach, new system, I just hope they get them all done.

 

well the track record does speak well for us - we never had a holdout under Seifert. I'd like to say "since Hurney got here" because that would be a far better thing to say. But he was here in 1998.

 

Kyle Johnson

Hasn't been mentioned since draft day.

I saw him do 2 things at the minicamps - fumble, and have a pass bounce off of his chest.

I have a feeling Hoover is gonna be the starting FB.

 

I don't know where to put this so I'll just stick it here.

Lindy's rating of the NFC south;

Coaching- ATL 5.5 , CAR. 5 , NO 7 , TB 8.5

QB-- ATL- 5.5 , CAR 5 , NO 7 , TB 7

RB-- ATL 7.5 , CAR 6.5 , NO 7 , TB 7

REC- ATL 6.5 , CAR 7 , NO 7 , TB 7.5

OL- ATL 6.5 , CAR 6.5 , NO 7 , TB 6

DL -- ATL 7 , CAR 7 , NO 6.5 , TB 9

LB -- ATL 8 , CAR 6 , NO 6.5 , TB 8

SECONDARY- ATL 7.5 , CAR 5 , NO 7 , TB 7.5

SPEC T- ATL 8 , CAR 10 , NO 7 , TB 6.5

The Panthers are ranked last in Coaching, QB ( tie with ATL), RB, LB, and Secondary. Best only in ST. Agree?

If one would attempt to project these figures the conclusion would be; TB has the best passing game with the top QB and the top receivers. NO has the best running game with best RBs and OL and ATL good. CAR is okay at running with TB's OL too weak to be strong.

In this rating CAR's LBs and SEC is too weak to stop anyone. Wesley had better show up or we would not be able to stop anyone. CAR is ranked only above NO at DL.

TB, NO, ATL, with us dead last. Do you believe this?

 

I can believe them justifying dead last. In other words, them making their rankings so that we'd come in last. I'm familiar with their mostly arbitrary rankings, so this doesn't surprise me.

Big problem - coaching. While Fox has not proven to be an NFL head coach, it's a certainty he can coach defense, as can Del Rio.

The hires, offensively and defensively, were quality hires, with my only beef being Henning's age and a lack of a competent QB coach. My hope is that one will be available next year of quality, and that the reason we went with DH and no QB coach was of that reason.

OL - a rarity that they didn't score us worse than the other three. I don't see that to be the case, that we'd be only a 6.5, with two pro bowl caliber players along the line. Still, it's flawed, and we'll probably replace Terry and make a move at G if neither situation develops.

LB - this I don't get at all. Sure, Navies/Witherspoon/Jackson is a wash. None of the three right now are really starting level players in their own right - if any were on another team it would be far from an assumption that playing time or starting is likely. But Morgan alone is worth a 6.5, and Fields is an explosive veteran.

They did give us props for the special teams, though, and if they didn't they have no respectability at all. With a Pro Bowl punter, a similar level kicker, two Pro Bowl return men and counting Bates along with Cooper as the best coverage men in the league, there's no way anyone can say our special teams isn't what it should be.

 

mVm, I noticed that W Phillips has come to ATL with the 3-4 D. With Capers, other teams seem to develope strategies that were effective aganst this system. Can you or any of the others give some insight on the best way to attack the 3-4 D. They seem to have a good NT in Jasper which I think is the heart and soul of the scheme. ala Kragen(sp?).

 

As it happens, I've been looking in on the reports of the Atlanta defense.

Atlanta is running a "modified" 3/4, with Kerney rushing, mostly from the weakside, as the rush linebacker. Brookins will likely take the all important weakside ILB, with draft. Matt Stewart will battle Will Overstreet for the other OLB position.

Stewart is more of a cover LB, a little small and I think can be explioted. If they go with Overstreet, then they may lean more toward the Pittsburg/Capers style of 3-4, with two rush linebackers, like Greene and Lathon.

Overall, I like their linebackers. But I don't think they have the beef.

Jasper is small for a 3/4 NT. Hall and Dronett are on their last legs last legs.

In the end, the way to attack this defense is to have some lineman that can get out and move. Mitchell can, but he'll be occupied initially. We need to get out in front of Brookins, get some traffic in front of him, he's their playmaker. Perhaps a quick double team can get rid of Jasper.

I'd wear them out from the strongside as much as possible, get traffic in front of Brookins. Then run a counter weakside now and then, let Stussie kick out Kerney, and blast up inside him.

Run at this team, run at them. Run, run, run.

 

So Piper, what you're saying is more of a KC or SF type 4-3 with a small rush LB playing the 4th DL. Interesting.

I don't know that Jasper will be a big enough threat at NT. Any team that wants can come with the 3-4, I feel we have a center for them.

catch - how would I attack a 3-4?
hard to say. if they're small as Atlanta, I would probably run right at them, run isolation behind a fullback, do a lot of stuff with motion and shifting to continue to dictate the gameplan to them. Nothing frustrates a team worse than pounding at them where they're weakest, and then manipulating to pound them where they think they're strongest - i.e. catching Brooking out of position.

that type 3-4 is also very, very susceptible to the play action and some misdirection, partly because their outside guys have a lot of responsibility in contain and partly because there's a big division between pursuit levels. I'd go playaction toward Brooking, then make sure I had as many throwing options short and away from Brooking.

One good way to negate some 3-4 looks, if they have success, is to spread them. Three and four receiver looks spread them out, force them to use two coverage LB (Brooking and likely some lesser known - Draft, Simoneau aren't coverage guys IMO and Overstreet is only a rush guy) and force their rush guys back on the line. Sure, Hall and Dronett are better in a four man line, but they can be negated with three linemen.

The other way, in base situations, is to go back to misdirection in the form of the h-back. Even by using base personnel (a FB or the second TE in the backfield), you can create an overload on one side or simply use a faster player to chip the oncoming pursuit - the on-side OLB or the on-side inside, for instance, to seal off a lane. It also works very well for taking on blitzing linebackers, and if you can negate their blitzes they're exposed over the middle. Their safeties aren't that good and you'll see us try to keep Buchanon and Ambrose out and deep, save for the requisite 5-6 balls to Muhammad.

I think we match up well against these guys in a 3-4. Against the Ravens, I dunno. We'll have to bully their DL, because their linebackers are still top notch. Atlanta has one good linebacker, so we can expose them various ways. Their strength is still corner, though, and that naturally can cause problems no matter the front.